On May 11, 2011, Capt. Garrett Cathcart was leading a patrol to the Ghala Charkh village in Badghis Province, Afghanistan. As a troop commander in the

How tea with the Taliban inspired a veteran to bridge political divides at home

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2024-11-25 18:30:13

On May 11, 2011, Capt. Garrett Cathcart was leading a patrol to the Ghala Charkh village in Badghis Province, Afghanistan. As a troop commander in the 10th Cavalry regiment, 4th Infantry Division, his mission was to help the village defend against the impending threat of the Taliban at the request of his Afghan National Police commander, Chief Israil Mo, who had family living in the village.

What Cathcart didn’t know was that the Taliban had already recruited people inside the village to their cause, including Mo’s cousins. 

As Cathcart’s vehicles approached, gunfire erupted from the village. Cathcart returned fire and began coordinating fire missions from overhead Belgian F-16s, which dropped two 500 lbs. bombs, and then Apache attack helicopters. The firepower of the aircraft “broke the morale” of the Taliban fighters. 

“That’s when it gets interesting because the chief, his family’s in there. They’re the ones shooting at us,” Cathcart said. “He said, ‘Hey, sir commandant, they want to talk to you.’ Like, we were just in a broad daylight gunfight, and we killed three or four of their dudes. I was like, ‘They want to meet me? What is happening?’” 

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